It’s a brave move, restaging A Midsummer Night’s Dream as a pitch-black thriller, but having opened at The Globe in London, the reviews speak for themselves.
Which means there’s a real buzz about the Headlong production landing at Oxford Playhouse on Tuesday 24 – Saturday 28 March for its final week of a national tour.
Holly Race Roughan, Headlong director was invited by Shakespeare’s Globe to create a new production of the classic, and instantly delved into the story and its characters to uncover new layers to the centuries-old drama.
“So we are exploring some of the darker elements of Shakespeare’s well-known comedy, turning it on its head and reexamining its themes and subject matter which feels really exciting,” Holly says.
If you haven’t seen it, A Midsummer Night’s Dream focuses on the adventures of four young lovers during one night in the forest, while the king and queen of fairyland have turned the seasons topsy-turvy as they battle over a changeling child.
‘There is so much psychological drama in A Midsummer Night’s Dream if you look for it’
So how does this differ? “What we are trying to do with this show is create a kind of pitch-black thriller for audiences to come and experience in the winter. But it’s inventive and playful as well as having the thriller aspects to it,” she explains.
“Part of the fun of the show is that even though we’ve gone dark in places, it’s still raucous and funny, and that is the gift of A Midsummer Night’s Dream – it just works. One of the things that we have really enjoyed is how much the audiences have a version in their head that they also bring into the room and then they go with us in another direction.”
DANNY KIRRANE who plays Bottom as a much more nuanced character than the usual idiotic donkey, agrees: “We want to push the boundaries and that is the genius of Shakespeare. A Midsummer Night’s Dream doesn’t have to be a farce and a knock about. So it’s still got humour but it’s also got depth and nuance, and the audience goes on that journey with us.”
‘We want to push the boundaries and that is the genius of Shakespeare’
So why meddle? “We are just dusting off the cobwebs, and while it’s the same text we are concentrating on its darker and more psychological parts. It’s still funny and not the traditional romcom, but it has real heart and soul.”
“And Shakespeare can be too generalised – we just want to give our audiences the chance to see it portrayed differently. So yes we are playing with the stereotypes and it feels really exciting. Why not look at Shakespeare in a different way? To keep learning?” he asks.
And while Danny’s portfolio contains some impressive credits including Maigret, Baby Reindeer, The Serpent Queen, Poldark, Game of Thrones, Skins and even Pirates of the Caribbean, the stage is where he is happiest.
“I have always wanted to do Shakespeare like this – a modern production of a classic, especially when you can see that the audience is enthralled, shocked and entertained,” he says.
‘We are just trying to make A Midsummer Night’s Dream more 3D and interesting and less twee’
“And while I understand that people are overprotective of Shakespeare, its language and history, we want to keep extrapolating, because the more you explore, the more incredible you realise Shakespeare really is, because the characters are all so well written. There is so much psychological drama in A Midsummer Night’s Dream if you look for it.
Such as? “Think about the first scene when Hermia is threatened with execution if she refuses to marry Demetrius. Lots of productions tend to rush past that because those moments don’t make sense in a lighter context but we dig in a bit further to find that nuance and contrast.
“And anyway who are we to decide what Shakespeare’s message was? We are just trying to make A Midsummer Night’s Dream more 3D and interesting and less twee. And perhaps we will change some people’s minds, so I’m excited to see what people think of it.”
‘it feels like fate to be involved in this version – the one I most want to do’
Having joined Headlong previously for Boys and Romeo & Juliet, Danny is delighted to be back: “I’ve been offered the part of Bottom before but could never take it, so it feels like fate to be involved in this version – the one I most want to do.”
And the highlight so far? Performing in Leeds was really special for me. It’s where I did my degree and my National Youth Theatre auditions so I felt like I’d come full circle, with hundreds of school children hanging onto your every word. It felt really special.”
“We are all really proud of this play. It’s exciting, funny, dark, moving and intelligent. Plus, it’s never been done like this before so come and see what we have uncovered.”
‘We are all really proud of this play. It’s exciting, funny, dark, moving and intelligent’
Or as Holly puts it: “We want to give our audiences a thriller experience rather than a warm fluffy time at a comedy. Shakespeare is one of the very few playwrights who does psychology as well as story as well as pure theatre and that’s endlessly engaging for an audience.”
William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a production by Headlong and Shakespeare’s Globe, with Bristol Old Vic and Leeds Playhouse runs at Oxford Playhouse from Tuesday 24 – Saturday 28 March. BOOK HERE
